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Toto Wolff says Mercedes would rather have a competitive engine with “reliability gremlins” that can be dialled back while the team works on a fix, after reliability issues caused George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to retire in Canada and Barcelona respectively. Wolff said: "I think we are such a performance organisation on the chassis and engine side, we want to squeeze everything out. But I'd rather dial back, a little bit, something that is really good, and fix some of the reliability gremlins, rather than running behind on performance. So far, we've won seven races out of nine. And I'd rather have this than slow and unreliable."
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the team has stayed competitive at the front by bringing small, regular performance updates rather than a single large upgrade package. Shovlin said: "We're bringing performance to it. We haven't done a massive kit like some of our competitors. But every week, we're trying to bring performance to just keep ourselves ahead at the moment. We're lucky that we've got a car that works across a whole range of tracks. Well, probably not lucky. I think we've done a good job at engineering a car that works across a full range of tracks."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s simulator was pointing the team towards the wrong set-up direction at the British Grand Prix, and that Charles Leclerc ended up following his approach before going on to win at Silverstone. Hamilton said: "What gives me confidence is coming into this weekend, the simulator said that we should start in a much different place with the set-up, and my engineers and I decided to stay within the direction that we would normally go. Charles started the way it was, that the sim would say to go, and then ended up my philosophy. The direction that I was taking was ultimately the right one, and he migrated that way."
Mark Webber says Oscar Piastri is contracted to McLaren “for the foreseeable future” amid renewed speculation linking Max Verstappen with the team. Mark Webber said: "Oscar is contracted to McLaren for the foreseeable future. Talk of him agitating to leave is nonsense. There has been a lot of fiction written about him and other teams… McLaren have repeatedly said they want him for the long term and Oscar is focused on that."
A used race-winning Ayrton Senna helmet sold for £500,000 at a Budds auction at Silverstone on Tuesday, PlanetF1 reports. The Shoei helmet, worn by Senna during the 1992 British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix, went for more than four times its pre-sale estimate of £80,000-£120,000, with the listing noting “extensive signs of race use” and including a McLaren certificate of authenticity.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says he has no reason to doubt Mercedes High-Performance Powertrains is being transparent and proactive with McLaren, as the team looks to improve its exploitation of the Mercedes power unit. Stella said: "I think, when it comes to the power unit exploitation and the opportunities that we have in this area, it's a fact that we have opportunities, but the implication is not necessarily that HPP is not trying hard enough. I think HPP, they are, like for any other team, in a process of development, in a process of fixing reliability issues."
Adrian Newey said the RB17 is still being fine-tuned after the Red Bull track-only hypercar ran for the first time three weeks ago, with some of its active systems not yet working during its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Newey said: "So at the moment, the active suspension isn't working. The fans are only cooling, not generating downforce as well. Some of the other active systems aren't calibrated yet, so this is kind of to get the car out, get it running. It only ran for the first time three weeks ago, so it's really to pull it together, and for it to work first time out of the box and be here is very special."
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown says the team will introduce as many upgrades as Ferrari by the end of the season, despite having brought the fewest new parts so far compared with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Brown said: "Mercedes have done a fantastic job with their upgrades. We're a little bit behind. I think it's very early in the season to draw conclusions because you don't know when everyone's going to deploy their upgrades. We have just as many upgrades coming, we just haven't put them on the race car yet because they're not quite at the level that we'd like it to be before we produce the parts."
Bahrain’s government says it is still hoping to reinstate its cancelled 2026 Formula 1 race before the end of the season, with October 4 being discussed as a possible date, according to Reuters. Minister of sustainable development Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif said there are talks about “plugging in some of the races that were cancelled back into the calendar”, though stressed there is “no confirmation still”. Bahrain’s April round was called off amid the US-Iran conflict, and the worsening regional situation this week has further complicated any rescheduling.
Audi Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto says the FIA should “rethink” the ADUO power unit upgrade scheme, arguing that measuring only V6 performance can be exploited, after Mercedes was one of the manufacturers allowed additional upgrades under the system. Binotto said: "In my opinion, the limit has been that it has exclusively measured performance on the track. A car with an overall advantage can afford not to fully exploit the potential of its power unit. It's possible, for example, that Mercedes had an engine with superior potential, but had no need to push it to the limit. That's why I think the regulation needs to be rethought in this regard. The goal was to help those who were actually falling behind."
Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen says Franco Colapinto will only stay with the team beyond his current deal if he proves he is “good enough”, with the Argentine’s contract set to expire at the end of the year. Nielsen said: "Well, everybody wants more. I think Franco is a driver that has been a slow starter, dare I say it. He's getting better. He's produced some good runs this year already. Miami was good. China was good. He's improving. So I think he's there on merit and when the time comes, we'll make the decisions. If he's good enough, he'll stay, and if he's not, then there's a better option. That's just Formula 1."
George Russell joked that the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix will stay with him until his "deathbed" after he was disqualified from victory at Spa-Francorchamps when his Mercedes was found to be underweight. Russell said: "No, I don't feel like it owes me anything, to be honest. Because that race still is a race that I'll remember. And I'll probably remember it more. The day I'm lying on my deathbed, I'll probably remember that race because of what happened."
Christian Horner says he would only return to Formula 1 in a role where he is empowered to make changes and “drive difference”, after serving gardening leave following his dismissal as Red Bull team principal days after the 2025 British Grand Prix. Horner said: "I have no interest in just being a number in a machine. I've more than demonstrated what I'm capable of doing, and if I go back, it would only be in a position where you were empowered to make a change, to drive difference, to win. I know that I would become very frustrated very quickly doing anything else. If you can't do it to win, why bother?"
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